Vaughn: [ Singing ] I want to tell you all a story Of a place that used to be Right off of Beach Haven, way out on the sea [ Talking ] From the day I picked up my guitar when I was 15 and really focused on learning, I knew I would write my own songs.

That's what you do.

That's what was presented to me by my musical culture that was popular.

People write their own songs.

My great role models were the Beatles and Bob Dylan.

They're telling their story.

Narrator: Now Valerie Vaughn is telling her stories.

She's a singer, a songwriter, and a former school social worker who loves history.

Turns out it's a perfect combination for teaching kids about the area where they live, Tuckerton, New Jersey, with the Pine Barrens on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.

Vaughn: The area now is celebrated.

This Seaport is here.

In the days before when I was at Pinelands High School in the late 1980s, the kids around here all had a feeling that they were ridiculed.

They were called Pineys.

This is the tale -- A more than 300 year old tale, right?

And then I realized, "Let's celebrate this."

And I started writing the songs so they'd feel good, really, about where they lived and the mysteries and the histories.

Sitting around a campfire with toast and marshmallows.

Get your marshmallows out, guys.

And it's then when a storyteller is bound to ask you this question, [ Singing ] Have you seen Have you seen Mrs. Leeds' 13th child?

I'm asking you have you seen Have you ever seen Mrs. Leeds' 13th child?

He's got the head of a horse with horns out the side He's got hot coals, a burning fire in his eyes Now, have you seen [ Talking ] So now, kids around here have a great feeling of a special, unique place that they live.

It's no longer being ridiculed.

Kids don't have to feel "I'm just a Piney."

Everybody's happy to be a Piney now, you know?

Narrator: The Tuckerton Seaport celebrates the traditions of South Jersey and the Barnegat Bay and Pinelands region.

Salvanto: The folk artists who are also tradition bearers and demonstrators here at the Seaport are the center of every program and exhibit that we do.

They're really the heart and soul and the spirit of the Seaport.

Narrator: When Valerie Vaughn comes to Tuckerton Seaport, she sings about local lore, history, and even science.

Vaughn: [ Singing ] From High Point's wooded hills... [ Talking ] Make learning fun.

Put the information into the song and it just floats and swims and music makes learning fun.

[ Singing ] One by one, the buildings fell Like castles in the sand The lighthouse, the schoolhouse Then the Coast Guard stand Now you know by 1950 There was not a trace of land Not a sign of Tucker's Island